Business roundup

Resource coordinator to help job seekers

OAK HARBOR - The Ottawa County Improvement Corporation is pleased to announce that Chrissy Ernsberger has joined the organization as the Employment Resources Coordinator for OhioMeansJobs Ottawa County.

In this position, Ms. Ernsberger will assist job seekers to create career plans, provide guidance with resume writing, and conduct job searches, along with working with job seekers to build networking skills to help them successfully find career opportunities.

Ernsberger’s most recent position was working for the Ottawa County Juvenile Court as a Classroom Monitor/Tutor for the Student Achievement Program (SAP), where she combined her passion for helping students with her social services background.

While working for the Ottawa County Juvenile Court, Mrs. Ernsberger received an Honored Educator Award.

“The OCIC is excited to have Chrissy on board. She has hit the ground running, and has established positive relationships with job seekers, businesses, and our partners,” commented Jamie Beier Grant, OCIC director.

The Ottawa County Improvement Corporation serves as the lead economic development agency by advancing, encouraging, and promoting the industrial, economic commercial and civic development of Ottawa County.

High speed internet coming to rural communities

WASHINGTON - Nearly 14,000 rural homes and businesses in Ohio that are currently unserved by high-speed Internet service could get connectivity in the near future.

These homes and businesses are in unserved areas of Ohio eligible for financial support from the next phase of FCC’s Connect America Fund (CAF), which helps offset the high cost of extending broadband service into rural areas. The FCC will be distributing these funds through an innovative “reverse auction,” which is scheduled to launch on July 24.

“Connecting the unconnected in rural America is my top priority,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “I’m excited that our CAF auction will provide opportunities for innovative companies and cooperatives to bridge the digital divide for the Ohio consumers and small businesses that lack high-speed access today.”

Nationwide, providers will compete for up to $2 billion in support to expand access to broadband to nearly 1 million homes and locations in unserved rural areas over the next decade. The auction will provide opportunities for new entrants to the marketplace, regardless of technology, including phone companies, fixed wireless service providers, satellite providers, cable companies and electric utility broadband providers.

By harnessing market forces, the auction is designed to provide consumers with high-quality, broadband service in an efficient, cost-effective way. The application period for providers seeking to participate in the auction runs from March 19 to March 30.

Ohio records 10,075 new business filings in January

COLUMBUS - Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that 10,075 new entities filed to do business in Ohio throughout the month of January, an increase of 42 compared to the same month in 2017.

Through the use of Ohio Business Central, the online business filing site founded by Secretary Husted in 2013, three out of every four new businesses are started online. In 2017, 117,429 new businesses registered with the Secretary of State’s office, surpassing the previous record set in 2016 of 105,009. Last year also marked the eighth consecutive year the state has seen a record number of new entities filing to do business in Ohio. In all, Ohio has seen a rise of 46.3 percent in filings from 2010 to 2017.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.(Photo: File photo)

From the time Ohio Business Central was launched until the end of January 2018, the Secretary of State’s Office has processed 341,624 online filings. In August of 2017, Husted announced that 100 percent of all filings needed to start or maintain a business in Ohio may now be submitted online.

January 2018 also marked 27 months since Husted reduced the cost of starting and maintaining a business in the Buckeye State by 21 percent. This change has saved Ohio businesses over $5.8 million to date.